Summary of 2013-14 Ohio Deer Seasons Page 1 Publication 5304 (R0914) OUR DEER MANAGEMENT STRATEGY The goal of Ohio’s deer program is to provide a deer population that maximizes recreational opportunity including viewing, photographing, and hunting while minimizing conflicts with agri- culture, motor travel, and other areas of human endeavor. This has been our goal for over 50 years. Farmer attitude surveys have been used to establish population goals for most counties. Although these goals are based on social values, the resulting populations have never exceeded the biological carrying capacity of the habitat. Deer herd condition data collected annually and through periodic studies confirm this. While we believe these goals represent a reasonable compromise concerning appropriate deer population levels, we plan to update population goals using a combination of farm- er, hunter, and general citizenry surveys in summer of 2015. Our deer management goal ensures that Ohio’s deer herd is maintained at a level that is acceptable to most, and biologically sound. Maintain- ing the deer population at or near goal is accomplished through harvest management. 2013-14 SEASON SUMMARY Seasons, Permits, and Game Check A valid hunting license (resident = $19, nonresident = $125) and an either-sex ($24) or antlerless permit ($15) are required (landowners are exempt) to hunt deer in Ohio. Hunters could harvest up to nine deer with a combination of either-sex and antlerless permits (Figure 1), however, they were limited to one antlerless permit per county. Permits were valid statewide during the first nine weeks of the archery season, as well as during all Division of Wildlife controlled hunts. Hunters were limited to one antlered deer, and had the opportunity to hunt deer during Ohio’s four seasons including archery (Sep. 28, 2013 - Feb. 2, 2014), antlerless muzzleloader (Oct. 12-13), gun (Dec. 2-8), and muzzleloader (Jan. 4-7, 2014). Youth (17 and under) season was Nov. 23-24. The Division of Wildlife issued 535,676 deer permits in license year 2013-14, nine percent fewer than last year and the fourth consecutive year that sales have declined (Table 1). Permit sales for 2013-14 were off by nearly 14% from the peak in 2009-10. The decreasing trend is likely due to sev- eral factors including fewer deer in many areas of the state; the statewide buck harvest of 70,100 was nearly 27% lower than the record 2006-07 antlered buck harvest (Figure 2). The other factor influenc- ing the decline is an aging hunter population. The most notable change in permit numbers was the decline in free permits issued to seniors and disabled veterans. In 2012-13, 58,498 free permits were issued to seniors and disabled veterans. This past year, this dropped to 35,606, a decline of nearly 40%. This decline may be partly a function of our decision to delay the sale of deer permits. In 2013- 14, deer permits went on sale July 1 st . Historically, these permits were available – along with all other permits and licenses – at the start of the license year, March 1 st . The change affected only deer per- mits and would have meant another trip to the license outlet. Perhaps this discouraged some folks and contributed to the observed decline. SUMMARY OF 2013-14 OHIO DEER SEASONS OhiO Department Of natural resOurces • DivisiOn Of WilDlife
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OUR DEER MANAGEMENT STRATEGYThe goal of Ohio’s deer program is to provide a deer population that maximizes recreational
opportunity including viewing, photographing, and hunting while minimizing conflicts with agri-culture, motor travel, and other areas of human endeavor. This has been our goal for over 50 years. Farmer attitude surveys have been used to establish population goals for most counties. Although these goals are based on social values, the resulting populations have never exceeded the biological carrying capacity of the habitat. Deer herd condition data collected annually and through periodic studies confirm this. While we believe these goals represent a reasonable compromise concerning appropriate deer population levels, we plan to update population goals using a combination of farm-er, hunter, and general citizenry surveys in summer of 2015. Our deer management goal ensures that Ohio’s deer herd is maintained at a level that is acceptable to most, and biologically sound. Maintain-ing the deer population at or near goal is accomplished through harvest management.
2013-14 SEASON SUMMARYSeasons, Permits, and Game Check
A valid hunting license (resident = $19, nonresident = $125) and an either-sex ($24) or antlerless permit ($15) are required (landowners are exempt) to hunt deer in Ohio. Hunters could harvest up to nine deer with a combination of either-sex and antlerless permits (Figure 1), however, they were limited to one antlerless permit per county. Permits were valid statewide during the first nine weeks of the archery season, as well as during all Division of Wildlife controlled hunts.
Hunters were limited to one antlered deer, and had the opportunity to hunt deer during Ohio’s four seasons including archery (Sep. 28, 2013 - Feb. 2, 2014), antlerless muzzleloader (Oct. 12-13), gun (Dec. 2-8), and muzzleloader (Jan. 4-7, 2014). Youth (17 and under) season was Nov. 23-24.
The Division of Wildlife issued 535,676 deer permits in license year 2013-14, nine percent fewer than last year and the fourth consecutive year that sales have declined (Table 1). Permit sales for 2013-14 were off by nearly 14% from the peak in 2009-10. The decreasing trend is likely due to sev-eral factors including fewer deer in many areas of the state; the statewide buck harvest of 70,100 was nearly 27% lower than the record 2006-07 antlered buck harvest (Figure 2). The other factor influenc-ing the decline is an aging hunter population. The most notable change in permit numbers was the decline in free permits issued to seniors and disabled veterans. In 2012-13, 58,498 free permits were issued to seniors and disabled veterans. This past year, this dropped to 35,606, a decline of nearly 40%. This decline may be partly a function of our decision to delay the sale of deer permits. In 2013-14, deer permits went on sale July 1st. Historically, these permits were available – along with all other permits and licenses – at the start of the license year, March 1st. The change affected only deer per-mits and would have meant another trip to the license outlet. Perhaps this discouraged some folks and contributed to the observed decline.
Summary of
2013-14 ohio Deer SeaSonSOhiO Department Of natural resOurces • DivisiOn Of WilDlife
Beginning with the 2011-12 spring turkey season, licensed hunters were no longer required to present their turkey or deer at a check station for permanent tagging. Instead, both deer and turkey could be checked on-line, over the phone, or at any license vendor. Expectations were high, and for the most part, all were met or exceeded. Aside from the conveniences the Wild Ohio Customer Relationship Management System (WOCRMS) afforded our hunters and the time savings it created for DOW staff, our new license and game check system created opportunities to examine permit and harvest data in a manner that previously had been impossible or difficult at best. These new oppor-tunities have and will continue to allow us to offer products, licenses, and permit packages that best suit our customer’s needs.
For 2013-14, most hunters (77%) bought their permits in person, at a license vendor. Seniors and veterans were most likely to purchase their permits in person, with 89% of their permits bought at a license vendor. Non-residents were the most likely group to buy their permits on-line (39%).
In the 2013-14 season, 47% of deer were checked over the phone, making it the most popular method, with on-line reporting a close second at 42%. Only 11% of the deer harvest was checked in person. If you exclude deer harvested by landowners, no less than 60% of deer were checked using the phone, regardless of permit type (Figure 3). Because WOCRMS relies on a 10-digit deer permit number to operate the phone-in check, deer harvested by landowners (who are not required to purchase a permit) cannot be checked using this method. For this reason, 76% of landowner har-vests were reported on-line. Not surprisingly, because of their limited options, landowners were also more likely to complete their game check transaction at a license vendor than other hunters. Non-residents were least likely to use the internet to report their harvest, and preferred to check their deer over the phone more so than any other group.
HARVESTSummary
A total of 191,503 deer was harvested in the 2013-14 season, 12.5% fewer than last season (Table 2). The harvest was composed of 70,100 bucks, 99,587 does, and 21,816 button bucks. Coshocton County once again led the state in total harvest with 6,272 deer. A harvest summary by season for the top five counties is presented in Table 3, and a complete harvest summary by county and season is available in Appendix 1.
Hunters harvested 75,408 deer during the traditional statewide gun season, 13% fewer than last year (Table 2). Coshocton, Muskingum, Tuscarawas, Guernsey, and Ashtabula counties led the state in gun harvest (Table 3). These counties held the same positions last year, with the exception of Ashtabula which ranked 11th.
Archers reported harvesting 85,561 deer this year, 1% more than last season (Table 2). Archers accounted for 45% of the entire deer harvest, and for the first time in Ohio’s history, more deer were taken during archery season than the week of gun season. By comparison, just a decade ago the archery harvest accounted for just over 25% of the annual harvest (Figure 4). This shift in the harvest is likely due to the ever increasing interest and participation in archery hunting. In 1981, only one out of every three Ohio gun hunters also participated in the archery season (Figure 5). In 2013, nearly 75% of gun hunters also hunted with archery tackle.
Crossbow hunters harvested 49,041 deer this year, an increase of 4% over last season. Licking County led the state again with 1,636 deer, and Coshocton, Tuscarawas, Ashtabula, and Trumbull rounded out the top five crossbow harvest counties. This year’s vertical bow harvest (compounds, re-curves, and longbows) was 36,520 deer, 3% fewer than last year. Licking County archers led the state
once again with a harvest of 1,285. This is the 7th consecutive year that Licking County has held the top spot for vertical bow harvest. Coshocton, Muskingum, and Hamilton counties again were repre-sented in the top five, but Adams replaced Tuscarawas as the county with the third highest vertical bow harvest.
In the inaugural antlerless-only early muzzleloader season, where hunters took a total of 5,608 deer, Ashtabula County hunters harvested the most (200), followed by Licking, Guernsey, Musking-um, and Knox counties. There were 16,464 deer harvested during the bitterly cold 4-day statewide muzzleloader season, a decrease of 24% from the 2012-13 harvest (Table 2). Guernsey County was again the top spot for muzzleloader hunters with a harvest of 652 deer, which was 21% fewer than last year. Coshocton, Muskingum, Tuscarawas, and Belmont counties held the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th spots, respectively, just as they did last year.
Young hunters battling unseasonably cold weather took only 6,640 deer this year during the 2-day youth season, a decline of almost 28% from last year’s harvest. Top spots for youth hunters were Coshocton, Tuscarawas, Muskingum, Holmes, and Knox counties.
This past season, 63% of the harvest was antlerless. However, nearly 18% of these antlerless deer were male fawns, or button bucks. While there is no intent to minimize the accomplishment of the successful hunter, from a herd management standpoint, there is little to be gained from harvesting a button buck. With the increasing popularity of bow hunting (about 8 out of 10 Ohio deer hunters participate in the archery season) we anticipate that hunters will reduce the annual button buck har-vest. Because archers are limited to close range shots and have a four month-long season (more har-vest opportunities), bow hunters can more reliably identify button bucks and afford to pass them up without sacrificing harvest opportunities. As a group, archers in the 2013-14 season saw 17% of their antlerless harvest composed of male fawns, compared to almost 23% for the gun, muzzleloader, and youth seasons. Managing the button buck harvest presents an opportunity for hunters to continue to achieve adequate doe harvests without sacrificing opportunity. The 2013-14 button buck harvest proportion was the lowest it has been since at least 1977. This is significant considering that hunters tend to become less selective as harvest opportunities decline, as has been the case since 2009.
Non-resident HuntersNon-resident hunters accounted for 11% of the deer permits issued this year and 8% and 12% of
the total and buck harvests, respectively. The composition of the non-resident harvest was 52% ant-lered, much higher than the resident harvest which was only 34% antlered. The top 5 non-resident states (number of deer - percentage of total harvest) were Pennsylvania (2,712 - 1.4%), Michigan (1,448 - 0.8%), West Virginia (1,392 - 0.7%), North Carolina (1,129 - 0.6%), and Florida (1024 - 0.5%). Among the states taking at least 100 deer, those harvesting the most bucks as a percentage of their total harvest were West Virginia (65%), Michigan (64%), New Jersey (63%), Maryland (62%), and New York (59%). Non-residents that were most likely to harvest an antlerless deer were from Texas (67%), Canada (66%), New Hampshire (64%), Louisiana (60%), and Maine (59%). The counties with the larg-est proportion of their harvests attributable to non-residents were Adams (19.5%), Athens (17.4%), Morgan (17.4%), Pike (17.2%), and Meigs (16.1%). On the other end of the spectrum were Darke (0.8%), Putnam (0.9%), Sandusky (1.2%), Summit (1.3%), and Auglaize (1.3%) counties.
More than half (60%) of the non-resident harvest occurred during archery season, with the gun and muzzleloader seasons accounting for an additional 29% and 10%, respectively. Non-resident hunters took a larger percentage of their harvests during archery season than either residents or landowners. Sixty-six percent of the antlered and 55% of the antlerless deer harvested by non-resi-dents was taken during archery season (Table 4). Among states harvesting at least 100 deer, hunters
from Louisiana took the greatest proportion of their deer during archery season (78%). The other top states for non-resident archery harvest were Massachusetts (73%), North Carolina (69%), Maine (65%), and Alabama (65%). Illinois hunters topped the list for non-residents taking the largest pro-portion of their harvest during the gun season (53%), followed by Canada (44%), Texas (39%), Indiana (38%), and Kentucky (38%).
LandownersLandowners reported harvesting 52,991 deer, nearly 28% of the total harvest. The percentage
of the statewide harvest taken by landowners has steadily increased since at least 1995 (Figure 6). Landowners harvested the majority of their deer (46%) during the gun season, 40% during archery, and 8% during the statewide muzzleloader season. Though resident and non-resident hunters harvested the greatest percentage of their antlerless deer during the archery season, landowners differed substantially, taking just over 50% of their antlerless deer during the gun season (Table 4). Landowner proportion of the total county harvest varied considerably across the state, but was greatest among southeastern counties. Meigs County led the state with landowners accounting for 44% of the total reported harvest. Landowners also accounted for a significant portion of the total harvest in Washington (41%), Scioto (39%), Athens (37%), and Jackson (37%) counties (Table 5). The counties with the smallest proportion of their harvest attributable to landowners were Cuyahoga (8%), Henry (9%), Franklin (10%), Van Wert (10%), and Marion (12%) counties.
Public LandHunters reported harvesting 17,846 deer, just over 9% of the season total, on public land. With
just over 80,000 acres of public land between the Wayne National Forest, Crown City Wildlife Area, and Dean State Forest, Lawrence County once again held the top spot for public land deer harvest. Almost 28% of the deer taken in Lawrence County were harvested on public land (Figure 7). The other top counties were Vinton (24%), Hamilton (22%), Morgan (20%), and Lucas (20%).
DEER AGE STRUCTUREIn 2013, Division of Wildlife personnel aged 6,842 deer, almost 10% of the deer harvested during
the gun season. Data was collected from 90 different processors in 51 counties. Figure 8 shows how the age structure of the antlered harvest has changed over time. Beginning in the late ‘90s, hunters began harvesting fewer yearling (1.5 year old) bucks, and the trend has continued. In the early to mid ‘80s, nearly 70% of the bucks harvested were yearlings. Today, that percentage is below 50%. A reduction of this magnitude would normally be a result of some type of regulation change, such as antler point restrictions. In our case, the decline in yearling buck harvest is likely due to at least two factors. First, the growth of the deer herd over time, coupled with very liberal antlerless harvest opportunities likely reduced the pressure on the antlered segment of the population. Second, and most importantly, Ohio hunters seem to be aware of the benefits of allowing bucks to mature, and have acted on their own “self-imposed” restrictions.
HUNTER SUCCESS, PARTICIPATION RATES, AND EFFORTThis year, 235,091 resident adults purchased at least one either-sex or antlerless-only permit and
73,116 harvested at least one deer, for a 31% hunter success rate (Table 6). In our 2012 annual deer hunter survey, 32% and 95% of hunters reported spending some time hunting public and private land, respectively. Applying these rates to our population of licensed adult hunters for the current season, we find that approximately 74,000 and 224,000 hunters hunted at least once on public and private land, respectively, during the 2013-14 season. This year, 10,244 and 65,114 and hunters reported taking a deer on public (14% success) and private (29% success) land, respectively. Because
our deer hunter surveys are limited to resident adult hunters, rates may be different for non-resident hunters, as well as youth, disabled vets, free and reduced cost seniors, and landowners.
During the 2013-14 season, nearly 80% of hunters bowhunted, while 28%, 79% and 41% reported hunting in the antlerless muzzleloader, gun, and muzzleloader seasons, respectively (Figure 9). One in five archery hunters were successful, and success rates with archery tackle were nearly three times higher on private than public land (Table 6). Archers were a bit more successful this year compared to last. Overall success rate during the gun season was nearly the same as archery, with nearly one in five gun hunters reporting a deer harvest. Success rates on private land were almost double those on public land. When considering the archery and gun success rates, it is important to remember that these are very much dependent upon each other. Recall that nearly 75% of our gun hunters will bow hunt for nine weeks before gun season. Moreover, many also hunt the statewide muzzleloader season. Success with archery tackle and the appeal of hunting with a muzzleloader in January un-doubtedly contribute to lower success rates during the statewide gun season. Because most hunters participate in multiple seasons, season-specific success rates must be viewed with some caution.
Gun and muzzleloader success rates were down considerably compared to 2012. Though smaller deer populations likely contributed to the observed decline, season length undoubtedly makes the gun and muzzleloader seasons more susceptible to the effects of weather. In many parts of the state, gun and muzzleloader hunters experienced abnormally foul weather, likely leading to both lower participation and success rates.
Over the past three seasons, there has been a steady decline in the number of deer taken per hunter. In 2011, 243,126 resident adults harvested 117,988 deer, or 0.49 deer per hunter. This figure declined to 0.47 in 2012, and in 2013 there were 0.42 deer harvested per resident adult. Similarly, there has also been a steady decline in the number of deer taken by successful hunters. In 2011, successful hunters averaged harvesting 1.41 deer. In 2012, this number dropped slightly to 1.40, and again in 2013 to 1.36 deer (Figure 10).
In spite of large deer populations and liberal bag limits, only 18% of successful hunters harvested two or more deer in the 2006 season. This changed dramatically with the introduction of the $15 antlerless permit during the 2007-08 season. From 2007 to 2011, there was a steady increase in the percentage of successful hunters harvesting two or more deer, reaching an all-time high in 2011 at about 27% (Figure 11). This percentage declined in small increments in 2012 and 2013, likely due to the reduction in the size of the deer population and bag limits.
Most hunters harvesting more than one deer only harvested two. This year, 19% of successful hunters bagged two deer, 5% harvested three, and only 1% took four or more deer (Figure 12). Of important note is, even though bag limits have been largely unlimited (statewide bag in 2011 and 2012 was 18, 2013 it was 9), fewer than 1 in 500 hunters harvested five or more deer in any given year, and specifically in 2013, only 1 out of 1,000 hunters tagged five or more deer.
Figure 13 shows how the number of deer harvested per successful hunter has changed over time. In 2006, almost 82% of hunters harvesting more than one deer only harvested two, and only 2% took more than three. By 2011 only 70% of multiple-harvest hunters took two deer and almost 10% bagged more than three. As deer populations have been reduced closer to goal, the percentage of multiple-harvest hunters taking only two deer has risen. Likewise, the number of hunters taking three or more deer declined in 2012 and 2013. Specifically for the 2013-14 season, 75% of hunters harvesting multiple deer only bagged two, 19% took three, and 6% harvested four or more (Figure 13).
Over the past three years, hunters have averaged 19.9 days afield. Archers have been the most consistent, spending 19.3, 19.2, and 19.7 days afield during the 2011, 2012, and 2013 seasons, respec-tively. The number of days spent hunting during gun season has declined slightly from 4.0 in 2011 and 3.9 in 2012, to 3.7 in 2013. Hunters spent fewer days hunting the statewide muzzleloader season as well; they hunted 2.4 days in 2011, 2.2 days in 2012, and 2.0 days in 2013 (Table 7). As compared to the results of a 2001-02 deer hunter survey, the average number of days spent hunting during the archery season in 2013 declined by about one day, the number of gun days has remained stable, and the number of days spent hunting the statewide muzzleloader season has declined slightly. How-ever, because more hunters are now likely to participate in multiple seasons, the average number of days spent hunting across the entire deer season has increased by about 2.5 days since 2001.
DEER DAMAGEBecause population goals for most of Ohio’s rural counties are based on farmer tolerances, the
likelihood of widespread agricultural problems should be minimal when deer populations are at or near goal. However, some localized damage is still likely to occur where hunter access is limited. In situations where deer need to be killed to reduce property damage, landowners/lessees may be issued Deer Damage Control Permits (DDCP) at the time the damage is occurring to kill deer during the dates and under the conditions specified on the permit. For most agricultural problems, these permits will only be valid from January 1 until the start of the archery season. Under limited circum-stances permits may be extended until the start of the youth gun season. In specific circumstances, permits may be valid year-round to control damage at orchards, nurseries, inside municipalities, and for safety purposes at airports. Regardless of the situation, DDCPs expire no later than December 31 the year they are issued. Except in the case of rub damage to trees, permit holders are strongly en-couraged to kill antlerless deer. Permit holders must surrender all antlers to the Division of Wildlife. In 2013, a total of 1,177 crop damage complaints was received by the Division of Wildlife, 9.3% fewer than the previous year (Figure 14). This is the fourth year in a row that both the number of com-plaints received and the number of deer killed on damage permits have declined. Out of the 1,177 complaints received, the Division of Wildlife issued permits in 1,135 cases. In 2013, these Deer Dam-age Control Permits resulted in 4,923 deer killed, 431 fewer than the 2012 season.
LOOKING BACKThe 2013-14 season was certainly a year of change. After an unprecedented 6-year run of stable
hunting regulations, the 2013-14 season saw more significant regulation changes than is typical for an entire decade. First, legal shooting hours were extended to one-half hour past sunset dur-ing all firearms seasons. There was no reported safety issues associated with this change and har-vest records indicate that a little over 3,100 deer were harvested during the week of gun season in the 30 minutes after sunset. With this change, Ohio joins at least 33 other states where it is legal to hunt with a firearm during the half hour after sunset. The other notable change was the addition of the 2-day antlerless-only muzzleloader season that took place the second weekend in October. We estimated that more than 60,000 hunters participated in the season and harvested 5,608 deer, well within the preseason forecast of 5,000-8,000 deer.
2014-15 SEASON PREVIEWBackground and Justification
Compared to the 2013-14 season, the 2014-15 season will be relatively quiet in terms of regula-tion changes. Changes to look for include the addition of straight-walled cartridge rifles to the list of legal deer hunting implements and restrictions on the use of the $15 antlerless permit. In response
to overwhelming public support, straight-walled cartridge rifles will be legal for use during the youth and statewide gun seasons. Be sure and check the hunting digest for a list of legal calibers.
The Division of Wildlife remains committed to providing quality deer now and into the future. To accomplish this, we must harvest an adequate number of does each year to maintain the herd at a level that is not only socially acceptable to most, but that the habitat is capable of supporting in good to excellent condition. Through a combination of liberal bag limits, reduced cost antlerless permits, and other programmatic changes, including education on the importance of an adequate doe harvest, we have successfully moved deer populations in most counties to, or very near, estab-lished goals. In response to the population declines, and to prevent populations from dropping below goal, bag limits have been reduced in 44 counties. In 29 counties where we believe additional antlerless harvest reductions are warranted, we have opted to discontinue using the antlerless-only permit. The removal of the antlerless-only permit is designed to ease harvest pressure on antlerless deer. Though the bag limit in some of these counties will not change, we believe the removal of the antlerless-permit in these counties will likely have a greater impact on the antlerless harvest than a bag limit reduction.
Antlerless Permit Restrictions – The antlerless permit was introduced in 2007 as a tool to increase harvest pressure on antlerless deer and reduce populations. To that end, we have been very suc-cessful in many areas of the state. Now that populations are at or nearing goal in most counties, the antlerless permit is no longer needed. Without restrictions on its use, deer herds would continue to decline. Success will depend on our ability to modify hunter behavior through this permitting change. The change will not affect hunters that buy only one deer permit (about two-thirds of our hunters), as the vast majority of single-permit buyers purchase an either-sex permit, not the $15 antlerless permit. However, it does have the potential to affect about two-thirds of the hunters that buy multiple permits. Those hunters that purchase multiple permits have two choices: buy multiple either-sex permits, or buy a combination of either-sex and antlerless-only permits. In the 2013-14 season, there were twice as many hunters that bought a combination of either-sex and antlerless-on-ly permits compared to those that purchased only either-sex permits. More importantly, those com-bination permit buyers were more than twice as likely to purchase multiple permits at the same time as compared to either-sex only hunters. In other words, the buying habits of hunters purchasing a combination of either-sex and antlerless-only permits commit them to harvesting multiple deer from the start. On the other hand, the majority of hunters that buy only either-sex permits adopt a “fill and buy approach”, where they only purchase one permit at a time, fill it, and then decide whether they will buy another permit to continue hunting. Because of the one-at-a-time purchasing pattern exhibited by either-sex permit holders, they are never committed to harvesting more than one deer. Moreover, if their first deer is a buck, chances are good that they will be done hunting for the year, as they are not likely to purchase another permit to hunt antlerless deer. By removing the antlerless permit, hunters that historically bought multiple permits at the same time may alter their permit purchasing tendencies and buy only one permit at a time. Hunters that have grown accustomed to using the $15 antlerless permit will likely decide to buy fewer permits, which will lead to the intended goal of a reduced antlerless harvest.
Early Muzzleloader Antlerless-Only Season – Some hunters voiced their displeasure with the early muzzleloader season during the 2014-15 public comment period. Although open house attendees typically only represent a small fraction of Ohio’s hunters, their concerns are valid all the same. For this reason, it is important to discuss the justification for keeping this weekend a part of the 2014-2015 deer season.
The first common criticism of the early muzzleloader season was, “It causes deer to become noc-turnal.” The most logical way to determine if this is true would be to monitor the movements of deer before, during, and after the early muzzleloader season. This would be a costly venture and likely take several years of data collection, but fortunately the Pennsylvania Game Commission conducted research on this very topic about a decade ago. Just like Ohio, Pennsylvania has an October muzzle-loader season (though it is a week-long season rather than two days) and researchers placed GPS collars on antlered bucks to see what effect the season had on their movement patterns. Not surpris-ingly the majority of buck movement was right at daylight or dusk, and continued through the night hours for each time period (Figure 15). Most notably, the study showed that bucks moved just as much, or even a bit more, during daylight after the early muzzleloader season as they did before or during it.
The second concern raised by hunters was that the early muzzleloader season would lower bow-hunting success, and, ultimately, archery harvest. The harvest data tell a different story. The 2013-14 season started out slow, and after the first day of the season, archers had harvested 10% fewer bucks than they had in 2012. By day 16, the day after the conclusion of the early muzzleloader season, archers had harvested 31% fewer bucks than last year. However, by the 33rd day of the season, bow hunters made up for lost ground and actually surpassed the 2012 harvest. Two other significant statistics point to a great year for archers. While the harvest was down for all of our firearms seasons, the archery buck harvest was 2% higher than the 2012 season, and this past year’s archery harvest ac-counted for a record 45% of the total harvest!
A third concern of archers was the fact that they were limited to only antlerless deer that weekend. For a host of biological as well as sociological reasons, the intent of the early muzzleloader season, as well as the antlerless-only permit, was to shift the harvest of antlerless deer earlier in the season. Hunters are apt to hunt more and harvest again if their first deer is early and antlerless. If archers were allowed the option of either-sex during this 2-day season, it would likely diminish the effective-ness of this important management tool. Inevitably, muzzleloader hunters would want an either-sex option as well, or they would just switch to using archery equipment. If this were to happen, the season would undoubtedly lose its effectiveness. The second weekend in October was purposefully chosen for the antlerless-only season because, historically, this weekend has produced fewer buck harvests than any other early season weekend. On average, about 2,000 deer (less than 1% of the season’s harvest) were harvested on this particular weekend, and, of those 2,000 deer, only about 25% of them were bucks. Bow hunters in Ohio enjoy one of the longest archery seasons in the coun-try, and they are being asked to make a very small sacrifice for the betterment of Ohio’s deer manage-ment program as a whole.
Finally, a common misconception held by some was that few hunters even liked the season. In the inaugural early muzzleloader season, 5,608 deer were harvested. If we assume a 10% success rate, there were an estimated 56,000 muzzleloader hunters in the woods on the second weekend of Oc-tober this past year. On that same weekend, archers reported harvesting 945 deer. Using the same success rate adds an estimated 9,500 archers, for an estimated total of 65,500 hunters that hunted during the third weekend of the 2013 season. In 2012, with no early muzzleloader season, 2,304 deer were harvested by archers the 3rd weekend of the season, which equates to about 23,000 hunters. Compared to the same weekend in the 2012 season, the early muzzleloader season resulted in hunt-ing opportunity for nearly 3 times as many hunters in 2013!
The timing of this antlerless-only season is consistent with the Division of Wildlife’s emphasis on the importance of harvesting antlerless deer early in the hunting season. There are multiple ben-efits to harvesting an antlerless deer early in the season versus later in the year: it is more biologi-
cally sound, it is easier to differentiate between button bucks and adult does early in the season, and balancing the sex ratio of the herd early in the season can intensify rutting activity. Harvesting an antlerless deer early in the season allows the resources that deer would have consumed over the course of the season to be available to the surviving herd later in winter. A deer’s diet varies through-out the year, but on average, a 150 pound deer in good condition will eat 10-12 pounds of forage per day. So, if a hunter chose to pass on a doe on October 1, but harvested that same doe on January 1, it would have consumed food resources for an additional 3 months, totaling about 900 pounds of forage! A January harvest means those 900 pounds of resources consumed between October and January were not available to benefit those deer that survive the season. On the other hand, if the doe would have been harvested with the first opportunity in October, those resources it would have consumed throughout the season would be available to other deer. Deer surviving the season would be able to put these resources to good use by improving their body condition for the winter and fol-lowing year, eventually translating into bigger body sizes, better reproductive potential, and larger antlers.
Not only is an early harvest more biologically sound, but because buck fawns are still relatively small compared to mature does early in the season, the difference in body size makes it easier for hunters to avoid mistaking a button buck for a doe. Later in the season, button bucks may be nearly as big as adult does, making identification much more difficult, and mistakes much more likely. Finally, taking does before the onset of the rut can positively affect the sex ratio of the population, increasing the amount of competition during the breeding season. This can cause bucks to be more visible during the peak of the rut, displaying more intense rutting behaviors, which translates into a better experience for deer hunters.
Season ForecastAttempts to reduce deer herds to goal have been largely successful. Therefore, to avoid further
population declines and to stabilize herd numbers, further reductions in bag limits and antlerless harvest opportunities are in order for the 2014-2015 season. Reducing bag limits in 44 counties, along with the removal of the antlerless-only permit in 29 counties, should contribute to a reduced total statewide harvest this season to somewhere between 180,000 – 185,000 deer. The buck har-vest, largely unaffected by regulation changes and more representative of the size of the population should be similar to last year’s harvest of 70,100.
Figure 3. Percent of harvested deer that were reported over the phone, on the internet, or at a license vendor in Ohio during the 2013-14 season. Landowners are not able to use the phone to record their harvest.
Figure 15. Median distances moved by antlered deer during 2-hour time intervals the week before, during, and after the October muzzleloader season in Pennsylvania, 2002 – 2004.
Table 4. Proportion of antlered and antlerless harvests by season for adult residents, non-residents, and landowners during the 2013-14 Ohio deer season.
Antlered Harvest Antlerless Harvest
ResidentNon-
residentLandowner Resident Non-resident Landowner
Archery 53 66 51 47 55 36
Early Muzzleloader 0 0 0 5 2 4
Gun 41 28 44 38 31 50
Statewide Muzzleloader 6 6 5 10 13 10
Table 5. Top 10 Counties with the greatest percentage of their total, antlered, and antlerless harvests attributed to landowners in the 2013-14 Ohio deer season.